Survival
by AisonX
Summary: I'd like to say I met my true love under the sunset, watching the waves crash softly onto the shore. Or at least a more romantic setting. But no, I just had to meet him - Nico - in a graveyard, facing off against a horde of demon snake ladies, and fighting to the death. Oh, joy. Nico Di Angelo/OC
1. The Introduction

**Yeah, this just came to me. I'm **_**meant**_** to be studying... oops?**

**:D**

**This is set after The Last Olympian.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer : I don't own the Percy Jackson Series. But I do own Riley.**

* * *

I never _did _have a normal life. And that was _before_ I met him and was dragged into all the drama.

Okay, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about. I'll start with a warning.

If you ever see a teenager locked in battle with a bunch of slithering snake creatures, keep your eyes straight in front of you. Don't stare at the boy. Don't attempt to help the boy. Don't run around screaming your head off. Just keep walking until the boy is out of sight.

Believe me, _don't_ try to interact with the boy. It's for your own good.

I guess it's too bad I never listened to my own warning. But if I could go back in time, I would have, no doubt, done the same. After all, it was how I met _him_.

* * *

My name is Riley Walkers, and I'm fourteen years old. I have short, dark brown hair streaked with light gold from time spent under the sun and wild, coffee colored eyes. My skin is strangely pale, despite the hours I spent under the sun. They just never seemed to tan.

I spent a quarter of my life living on the streets. I had almost forgot how having a home felt like, though I do remember snippets of my old life. The chicken-noodle soup, the homemade brownies, and the karate disks that my mom and I would just end up laughing over.

It's funny how fast things can change, eh?

7 years ago, my whole life was turned upside down.

It was just a normal weekend. My mom and I were curled up lazily on the sofa, eating icecream and laughing as we watched the athletes getting knocked over on tv. But there was something off. My mom kept glancing at the clock, and her fingernails were tapping agitatedly on the tabletop - a habit she had when she was nervous.

That should've been my first clue.

Around three in the afternoon, my mom stood up abruptly. She told me to go into the wardrobe and hide there for a while. I haven't hidden in the wardrobe since I was five.

That should've been my second clue.

"Mom!" I had complained. "I don't think I even fit anymore!"

But I crammed myself in the tiny space anyways, because I noticed the desperate and slightly panicked look in her eyes. A few moments passed, and my mom poked her head in.

Her eyes were shining. "Riley," She had whispered. "No matter what happens, don't come out okay? Hide in here, it's not safe outside."

I didn't understand what she meant exactly by 'not safe', but I understood from her expression and stance that it was serious.

"You know my bag of weapons that you love?" My mom had asked. I just nodded, waiting for her to go on. "The combination is 3, 6, 10. The day I met your dad. And if you need cash, it'll be in my workbag in my bedroom."

I was shocked. My mom never let me near her weapons, not since the day I almost impaled the girl next door's pet hamster. And she definitely didn't let me near her money, not after I tried to set fire to the notes.

That was my third clue.

Right after my mom gave me one last smile and an 'I love you' (Shocking. My mom usually didn't show her inner sappiness), there was a deafening crash. I could hear people talking, and being my idiotic, headstrong seven years old self (I apparently inherited my impulsive nature and stubbornness from dad, even though I wouldn't know since I never met him), I creaked open the door a little. What I saw shocked me.

There was a giant guy standing in the middle of the room. Every time he moved, lightning would crackle around him. Don't ask me why, but I thought it was cool then.

The giant didn't notice me, but my mom did. Her eyes got wide and she made frantic gestures for me to go.

I didn't, of course, and by that time the giant was sensing something wrong by my mom's expressions. So my mom tried to distract him.

"What do you want, Zeus?" Standing next to the giant, my mom had looked tiny, but her voice was steady. She locked her gaze with the giant and lifted her tiny head defiantly, her red curls bouncing on her shoulders.

The 'Zeus' guy growled. "She's still alive."

"I will _not_ sacrifice her." My mom's voice was quiet, but firm.

"Then you will die."

"So be it."

With a roar of fury, the giant rounded up on my mom. I was tiny then, and I wasn't sure what I could do. I doubt my karate skills would've been any help.

But seeing the giant towering over my mom's small frame made me mad. _Really _mad.

"HEY, YOU SMELLY SKUNK-BAG!" I had screamed as loud as I could.

Okay, not the best insult. But hey, I was seven. It was good enough to catch Zeus's attention anyways, and that was what I was aiming for.

Beside Zeus, my mom was shaking her head frantically, but I ignored her. "WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH MOMMY!" I shrieked.

Zeus turned to me. His body crackled with electricity again, but instead of feeling the awe I had been feeling a moment ago, I was filled with pure fury.

"YOU!" Zeus boomed. "HOW DARE-"

He shot a crackle of something blue at me, but I managed to dodge it for some reason. I guess those running trails paid off.

The fact that I managed to dodge the streak made him even madder. He let out a roar and sent another streak at me.

This time I wasn't so lucky. The streak had cornered me, and just when the streak came close and I was sure I was going to turn into dust-

BAM!

Something flew over my head. I followed the object to find mom, smoking and laying on the floor. She coughed, and a trickle of blood trailed down her chin.

Zeus had also stopped, stunned.

"MOMMY!" I shrieked, running towards her. I turned my head to glare up at Zeus.

"Riley." My mom choked out, her voice a whisper. I turned to look down at her, tears blurring my vision.

"Run." She gave me one last, tiny smile. Then the light faded from her eyes and she stared blankly up at the ceiling. I shook her a few times, but she lay limp in my arms.

"YOU KILLED MOMMY!" I turned to Zeus. My small chest constricted, but I wouldn't let myself grieve. Not just yet. "I HATE YOU! I HOPE YOU DIE!"

Zeus seemed to have recovered from his shock. He turned to me. "FOOLISH CHILD-"

He sent a streak at me, but once again something blocked my way.

I glanced upwards to find that it was another giant.

"Zeus." The giant said. His voice was calmer, and I felt myself slowly lowering my hand that was clutched around a pocketknife. "You can't control Fate."

"Brother." Zeus growled. "What do you want?"

"Leave the girl be." The giant said, his voice like a breeze. "Let what was meant to be happen."

I couldn't see the giant's face, because his back was facing me, but he seemed kinder. I relaxed my stance a little.

"Brother-" Zeus had said again. "Why are you interfering?"

"You can't control everything. Let it go, Zeus. You killed her mother. You've done enough."

At the mention of my mother, my stance tightened again. I gave a howl and charged at Zeus.

He glared at me, ready to vaporize me, but once again the other giant stopped him. "Child." He said warningly, though he didn't look at me. "Calm down."

Calm down? My tiny brain was whirling with anger. He was telling me to calm down?

Nevertheless, I stepped backwards reluctantly as I watched the two giants argue.

Finally, Zeus gave a grumble. He stepped backwards. "Whatever you say, _brother_." He spat the last word out.

"Are you okay?" the other giant turned to me, but I was already unconscious and smoking as I lay on the ground.

Someone really should've told me not to look at the golden light.

* * *

Back to the present :

Okay, so that was basically what happened. I'm not really sure what happened after I snuck a peek at Zeus's true form, but the next time I regained consciousness, it was two years later and I was on the side of the street with my mom's wad of cash and bag of weapons laying innocently on the ground next to me.

As I said before, two years had passed. I was older, a nine years old. My mind wasn't exactly coordinated to my body, but I wasn't given time to get used to it. I was confused, and I had no idea what those giants were about.

I soon discovered that people tend to think your crazy if you randomly walk up to them in the street and start telling 'imaginary tales' about huge giants, (I knew I didn't imagine them) especially if you can't even speak the language clearly and only have a limited vocabulary. I spent the next few weeks hanging around the local school and eavesdropping on the lessons (thank the gods for my ability to sneak past the guards). I used the money to buy food and water, and I would practice with the weapons every day.

I knew something was coming, and sure enough, by the time I turned ten, I got my first attack. It was by a huge, three headed dog thing that people around me cooed at and offered treats at. It pounced at me one afternoon out of nowhere, and I had scrabbled to find my dagger before I clumsily stabbed it into the dog's coat, and even after that, it showered me with sparkles.

Sparkles. Really?

Anyways, from then on, the attacks became more frequent. Snake ladies, big bulky icy giant things, random old grandmas. Yeah, you get the idea.

What's more, is that I found that most people don't see the monsters the way I do. Snake ladies are preppy girls, ice giant things are just innocent bystanders. And old grandmas were just plain old grandmas, not ones trying to kill me.

I was forced to flee from one place to another. In all, it was kind of nightmarish. I learnt how to sleep lightly with my dagger always clutched in a hand, and I learnt how to extend my senses so that the I would be able to hear every tiny sound. I learnt how to survive. It was simple. Wake up, find food, train, stab monsters, run, and sleep. That was my daily routine.

Of course, simple went over the hill when I wandered into Manhattan.

* * *

**So, how was it? I know this chapter was a bit messy with the tenses, but I had to explain a bit about Riley's past. **

**Anyways, tell me what you think!**

**Rock on! xoxo, xx-Don't-Let-Me-In-xx**

**(And yes, I _did_ change my username, if anyone's wondering. It used to be Dizzy-Birdy66. Anyways, Cya!)**


	2. The Meeting

**So, hey guys! Sorry bout the updating speed... I have schoolwork and all that so it was a bit... chaotic. **

**Anyways, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer : I do not own any of the characters that you may recognize. Riley does belong to me, but the whole 'Greek gods' thing belongs rightfully to Rick Riordan. The series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians belongs to Rick Riordan.**

* * *

It was a Friday afternoon when I met him.

Actually, I was surprised I could still remember the day of the week. You would think that I'd not bother to learn the day, but I always kept track of it. I knew every single birthday of mine that passed, every single christmas that I spent alone on the streets.

It depressing.

Anyways, it was Halloween that Friday. I could hear the exited crows of children as they banged on the neighborhood doors for candy, and a few years earlier I would've tried to join them. Styx, a year after I was dumped on the streets I still tried to join the children in begging for candy, using a worn plastic bag as my candy bucket.

Halloween used to be my favorite holiday.

Not anymore. Each Halloween the amount of monsters that came looking for me increased until I could find no comfort in begging for candy for pretending to be normal. Halloween became my 'fight for survival more than usual' day.

This Halloween, I was trudging alone on the Manhattan streets. A year or so ago Manhattan had been almost destroyed to rubble in some freak storm, and the buildings were still in construction. I stared blearily at the distant shadow of the Empire State Building as I tried to find a suitable sheltering spot.

Then I spotted it. The graveyard. People usually don't go there on a daily basis, and I might as well rest there until now. It was still day, and the monsters usually come at night. Plus, night was my running away time.

I sunk into the ground next to the graveyard, closing my eyes. I was exhausted, but somehow I couldn't sleep. There was a tingly feeling on my neck, warning me that...

Suddenly there was a rustle of the bushes and a hiss. I immediately sat up from my hunched state, glancing around my resting spot warily. There was something creeping through the place.

"STYX!" Somebody yelled. It wasn't me. I started, my eyes widening. Poking my head through the bushes, I found five snake ladies advancing towards my bush.

My hand crept to the dagger found in my mom's weapon trunk. The snake ladies were hissing towards my direction, but they didn't seem to be looking at me...

That was when I saw him.

'He' was standing off to the side in front of me. His clothing consisted of all black, blending in with the shadows even though it was day, making it hard to see him unless I concentrated. He was back-facing me, so I could only see the mop of floppy black hair and the black dagger clenched in his fist. Shadows seemed to be swirling around him, and I watched in fascination as he went into attack stance.

He could see them. The snake ladies. That was the only thought in my mind as they swirled and bend with the joy that I wasn't the alone. _He could see them._

Then he staggered and cursed. "Styx." He muttered. "I'm drained. Why must there be so many monsters on Halloween? I used up my powers last attack..."

He continued muttering to himself as he stared at the snake ladies. They were shifting, into beautiful girls, as they beckoned at the boy. And the boy seemed too weak to decline.

"Stupid guy." I muttered as I jumped out from behind the bushes. "Run, damn it!"

The snake ladies hissed in surprise as they turned to me. In a split moment of lost concentration,they shifted back into their original form and the guy stumbled backwards.

"Run!" I yelled at him, drawing my dagger. While the snake ladies were still in shock, I slashed at one of them and she exploded into yellow sparkles.

I spat in disgust as I watched the rest of the snake ladies hiss. This time I wasn't so lucky. The shock had been replaced by anger as they advanced.

One of them lunged at me, but I ducked and rolled out from under her metal trunks. Coming up from behind her back, I stabbed at her legs, causing her to collapse. Another snake lady advanced at me, then another.

They had me cornered.

With a growl, I glared at them and jumped. Not sure how I did it, I managed to land on one's back. Raising my dagger, I stabbed it in the head, causing it to howl and explode under my feet.

The other snake ladies glared at me. I growled my teeth at them as I waved my dagger threateningly.

"Watch out!" Somebody yelled. I turned around just in time to see a snake lady lunging at me. It was too fast to dodge, and behind me there was another monster-

Crunch.

The tip of a black dagger sent the snake lady that was lunging at me sprawling backwards. A split second later, it vaporized and the wind blew away the bits of yellow dust that was left in it's wake.

I bared my teeth in a way of thanks and went to attack the last monster. Once it exploded, I spat and turned to the guy.

He was staring at me. By now I had noticed that he had eyes as dark as his hair, and when I looked into the I seemed to be falling into an endless void.

"Hi." He said. "I'm Nico."

I looked at him for a while longer. Then I coughed, and grinned.

"Riley." I told him, my voice hoarse from being unused. I raised an eyebrow. "You know the nearest place I can get a cheeseburger? Cause damn, I'm _starving_."

* * *

"So," Nico asked me once I was happily munching on a burger and slurping from a coke bottle. His treat for me saving his life. "I suppose you know what those were back there?"

"Cheerleaders." I said in a perfectly straight face. Nico stared at me incredulously, and I laughed.

"You should've seen your expression." I grinned. "Priceless. No, they were evil demon snake ladies who always seem to find me and wants to rip my guts out."

Nico glared at me but he nodded. "Yeah. The shorter version is that they're Dracaena."

"Dracaena." I said. "Hm."

Nico leaned forwards so that he head was resting on his elbows. "Riley, how much do you know about the greek gods?"

"Greek gods." I mused. It sounded familiar, but I wasn't sure where I've heard it before. "Huh?"

Nico nodded like it was normal. "List all the greek gods that you know of."

I stared at him. "Greek... gods?"

"Hades? Poseidon? Zeus? Ring a bell?"

I shook my head slowly. Nico looked at me with a skeptical expression on his face as he raised an eyebrow.

"Don't tell me you don't know what the greek gods are."

"I don't." I replied, my eyebrows raising. Nico's expression turned incredulous as he saw my sincere confusion.

"Hades!" He growled. "Where were you educated, anyways?"

I paused, thinking. Nico made a weird exasperated gesture with his hands as he tapped his foot underneath the table.

"Uh." I said. "Oh, right! I was in Rocky Falls Kindergarden...?"

Nico stared at me. His mouth opened, then closed again as he swallowed.

"You-" He stopped. "Okay, where do you live?"

That was when I started getting defensive. I went tense, stilling as I slowly put my cheeseburger down on the wooden table. "Why do you want to know?"

Nico shook his head when me saw my hand slowly inch towards my dagger. "No." He said. "I'm on your side. Honestly."

My hand gripped the hilt. Nico shook his head again, more frantic.

"Riley. Have you been in school before?" He asked quickly, just as I started pulling out the blade.

"No." I growled, my voice low, as my hand pausing in the action of drawing my weapon. "I live on the streets."

There was a pause as Nico's eyes went wide and I realized what I just said. I shut my mouth, shaking my head frantically as I brought a finger to my lips in hope of telling Nico to shut up.

Styx. That hadn't meant to come out.

"I mean, I don't! I have a home!" I quickly mended, my head bobbing from side to side like a robot. Nico had his mouth dropped wide open in surprise as his eyes darted from me to the cheeseburger.

I started cursing, my hand dropping from the weapon. Standing up, I abandoned my food and eyed Nico warily as a string of profanities exploded from my mouth.

"Riley." Nico said after a while when he finally got his jaw back in place. "Have you learnt Ancient Greek?"

I stopped cursing long enough to give Nico a curious look. "...No?"

"You're cursing in Greek." Nico deadpanned. He had stood up with me.

"Don't be stupid. No, I'm not."

"Yes, Riley. You are."

Pause. "Styx." I said, feeling the word roll off my tongue in a way that was definitely not english.

My eyes wide, I shook my head slightly, unable to form words with my mouth that had gone dry. _No_, I thought, even as another part of my brain insisted that Nico was correct, and I _had_ in fact been cursing in Greek.

"Riley." Nico continued. "You need to come to camp."

"I- I..._what?_" _I just found out I know greek and now you want me to go to _camp?

"Riley, you may be a demigod."

That was when all hell broke loose.

_CRASH._ The whole restaurant collapsed as the last word, '_demigod_', was pronounced out of Nico's mouth. The glass panes shattered into pieces as the ceiling came falling down, and the last thing I heard before a piece of concrete knocked me unconscious was the terrified screams of the people.

* * *

**Yeah. The ending was a... bit rushed, but this chapter was fun to write..**

**Thanks to anyone who reviewed, favorited, or followed. :]**

**xoxo, xx-Don't-Let-Me-In-xx**


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